Metropolitan Kansas City's
Long-Range Transportation Plan

Policy Statement on Regional Growth and Land Use

Purpose:

The purpose of this policy statement is to provide guidance for the region's population and growth forecast, and to set a policy agenda to support the region's land-use strategy. This land-use strategy, developed as part of Transportation Outlook 2040, the region's long-range transportation plan, recognizes that the region will continue to experience growth consistent with historical trends, and also supports an increased level of development focused in existing and emerging activity centers and along key transportation corridors. It provides a vision for metropolitan growth that moves Greater Kansas City toward its goals of economic, social and environmental sustainability.

Background:

This growth and land-use strategy was developed through extensive analysis of local plans, review by local officials and public input. It presents a vision for the future that is rooted in the objectives and strategies contained in local comprehensive plans, and it reflects the concerns and aspirations of the region's citizens. This strategy promotes and reaffirms our goal to become America's Green Region by supporting robust economic growth with an emphasis on the effective use of existing assets and infrastructure, greater levels of redevelopment, and increased choices for how we live, work, play and travel.

Progress toward this vision is expected to occur, in part, as the market responds to external factors and forces outside our control, ranging from energy costs to demographic shifts. However, achieving as much of this vision as possible will also require concerted effort over the next 30 years to advance supporting strategies and investments. As regional leaders,
we are committed to working together to identify and promote policies that help achieve
this vision.

Policy agenda:

Specifically, the MARC Board supports the following policy agenda aimed at fostering implementation of the growth and land-use strategy, based on widespread regional consensus. These policies reflect our intent to support the vision of a sustainable region through strategic investments rather than disincentives and restrictions to growth. The policies will form the basis of initiatives MARC will support as we move forward to 2040. These policies may benefit from regional planning and coordination, but implementation efforts must fully respect and support local control over decision making in these areas.

Preserve and protect the region's natural resources.

Create local plans for new development and redevelopment that establish targets and clearly define priority areas.

Adopt planning tools, such as form-based codes, that encourage development in activity centers and along key transportation corridors.

Target public investment and the use of incentives to remove barriers that inhibit adaptation to market changes and attract more intense development to strategic corridors and activity centers.

Use public policies and investments to focus development where it can be served most efficiently
and affordably.

Increase levels of transit service along priority corridors.

Develop new and innovative incentive packages to achieve redevelopment implemented at the
local level.

For clarification, the MARC Board is not endorsing regional policies related to incentives in greenfield areas, sewer services, or any form of tax-base sharing, which reflects widespread community sentiment on these issues. The Board further recognizes that progress on this vision will also depend on the ability of communities to provide basic services, public safety and quality education.

Forecast Assumptions:

The MARC Board recognizes that the long-range transportation plan must be based on a 2040 land-use forecast, which, unlike a vision or a goal, projects what is most likely to occur between 2010 and 2040, given current knowledge and assumptions about policies.

The MARC Board asks the Technical Forecast Committee to develop such a land-use forecast using the above policy assumptions. Further, the MARC Board asks the Technical Forecast Committee to ensure that this forecast is also consistent with local plans and policies, as well as with what is known about historical trends and how they are changing.

The adopted land-use forecast in the long-range transportation plan will be reviewed at least
every two years, and adjustments will be made on a continual basis to reflect actual rates of change.